The Muppets comes out two weeks from now and – as I declared on Twitter – that means you get two weeks of Muppets-related Theater Hopper comics.

I’ll be frank and admit that I don’t entirely know what to expect from The Muppets. I’ve been in lockdown mode on this one for a while. It has been extraordinarily hard to do this because it seems like Disney is practically littering the internet with clips from the film. I’m even doing my best to avoid the commercials.

I hope I haven’t gotten my hopes up too far. There’s been inklings of dissaproval swirling around the movie from people in the know – most notably, Frank Oz. The creator of Miss Piggy, Fozzy Bear and original Muppeteer has been quoted as saying that the new movie sacrifices the integrity of the characters for the sake of making cheap jokes, and rewrites their personas and relationships in a way that “creates a false history that the characters were forced to act out for the sake of this movie.” There’s even been talk of some of the Muppeteer’s who performed in the movie wanting to take their name off of it.

The main complaint seems to be that writer/actor Jason Segel had the right intentions with the movie, but that basically… it’s not what Jim Henson would have wanted.

Personally, I see both sides of the story. Yes, it’s important to maintain the integrity of The Muppets. There is something unquantifiable about these characters that people have fallen in love with and we don’t want to see the sullied.

But to disparage the film because it’s not what Jim Henson would have done is simple short-sighted. Where would Disney be if they stopped producing cartoons after Walt Disney died? At some point, you have to prepare for the reality that the characters you may have had a hand in creating really don’t belong to you anymore. They belong to the people who believe in them. If you want your work to live on, it might not hurt to be a little magnanimous about it and hand them down to the next generation.

Oz’s comments in the Hollywood Report article strike me as a little possessive in a “get off my lawn” kind of way. If the new Muppets movie gets it wrong in some way, let them go back and try again. Were the Muppets fully formed characters out of the box when they were introduced 50 years ago? No, the evolved over time. There’s got to be a learning curve to this.

But to lock the characters in amber because you don’t want their integrity sullied? Well, that’s just selfish.

What are your thoughts about The Muppets? Are you looking forward to it? Specifically, I’m kind of interested in what Gen Y’s reaction to The Muppets will be. Do they feel left out of the loop since The Muppets were essentially a lost property during the 90s? Do they have the same affinity for the characters that older audiences do? Will the elixir of nostalgia be as potent among that audience?

Leave your comments below! I’d love to hear them! And, as always, if you could use the ShareThis tool at the bottom of the blog post to share the Muppet-y goodness, I’d appreciate it!

Discussion (17) ¬

I grew up on Muppet Babies and reruns of the Muppet show. I freaking love them. From the trailers, I could tell early on that they’re going for some cheap laughs at times, but that’s okay if overall the movie stays within the Muppet world we know and love, perhaps even expanding upon it. I’m excited. It may be one of the few movies I make time to go see this month.

I don’t understand the issue with the muppets acting a little out of character. It’s long be established that the muppets are all actors. So maybe this movie is just a movie the muppets are making? ALA The Great Muppet Caper.

Im a Muppets fan. Grew up on all the Henson stuff. I even went as Jim Henson for halloween again this year.

Yeah, Oz’s comments seemed a bit, ‘it’s not what I wanted to do, so it’s bad’ to me. It’s not like the Muppet Show didn’t have it’s fair share of “cheap jokes” (I’ve been watching the first season recently). As for character depiction, can’t really judge it until I see it, but it seems like it’d be a tough thing to screw up. I just hope they remember that Scooter’s uncle owned the Muppet theater.

People get pissed off about integrity all the time, especially with nerdy franchises. I mean, how many people were pissed off that Batman killed Darkseid in Final Crisis, or let Ra’s Al Ghul die in Batman Begins? How many people are pissed about the proposed new Punisher show having Frank be a cop by day, vigilante by night?

Muppets are a bit nerdy. When you take nerdy properties in a different direction, people get annoyed. If the new movie turns out having the sense of humour of a Nickelodeon cartoon, I’ll be annoyed because I expect the Muppets to be the Muppets. If its nothing way out of the norm, it will be fine.

I for one can’t wait to see this movie! Yes they’re making it seem like the muppets have been seperated for years when they haven’t but Kermit specifically stated in an interview on CBC that it’s just part of the movie.

I baught a new muppet shirt for the movie so Im all set. I just have to dig out my Kermit purse from the closet….

I am a lifelong fan of the Muppets, and am definitely looking forward to seeing the new movie. I have every Muppet movie, and seasons 1-3 on DVD, which I watch on occasion with my kids. I can’t wait to bring my kids to the theater, so they can enjoy seeing them on the big screen.

My brother and I won tickets to see an advance screening of The Muppets and I thought it was pretty great. It’s obvious how much love and admiration that Jason Seagull has for the characters and it’s pretty great to see what he does with it. The cameos in the film are plentiful, smart and hilarious. There are some really great surprises and moments between the characters. I actually got choked up near the end at a particular scene. The musical numbers brought a smile to my face and just kept me laughing the whole time. Amy Adams does a really great job and looks fantastic and provides a good foil to Seagull’s character. Overall, the whole movie has a lot of heart and charm to it and I hope it does well.

As if you needed another reason to check out The Muppets when it lands in theaters next week – but it will be prefaced by a NEW Toy Story short called “Small Fry.” From the synopsis…

Buzz Lightyear is left behind at a fast food restaurant when a kids’ meal toy version of Buzz takes his place. While Bonnie’s toys are stuck with the annoying three-inch-tall Buzz impersonator, the real Buzz is trapped in therestaurant at a support group for discarded toys. As Woody and the gang devise a way to rescue their friend, Buzz tries to escape the toy psychotherapy meeting.

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It’s probably not fair to call Pixar’s new movie Brave “Scottish Mulan,” but I the comparison leaps immediately to mind.

Okay, okay. So Mulan wasn’t a princess, or whatever. But you know where I’m coming from.

Would you feel better if I said it looked like it was mining the same territory as >How To Train Your Dragon? Or, in the very least, possessing some visual symmetry?

I feel like I’m being disproportionally harsh on Brave and without just cause. Maybe it’s some kind of tic I’ve developed from being a Pixar fanboy for the last 15 years. I’m pretty much 100% positive that Brave will be awesome, so perhaps this is just an exercise in expressing my contrarian underpinnings.

Either way, you should probably watch the trailer – because it’s pretty awesome and I can’t wait to see it and omiGAWD!…